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Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#501

Post by downrightmike »

jiggawatts wrote: post #252

Don't forget: "Never slow down the user interface". I have a 4K Sony television that was their flagship model when it was new, but a couple of years ago they "updated" it with a new version of its OS that looks identical but is incredibly sluggish. Not technically broken, but frustrating to use. Moving around between menu items is a good 2-3 seconds, up to 10 in some cases. There is literally nothing I can do about t…

A good reason to not connect your "smart" tv to the net. using another device, xbox or ps4 seems safer. Even though the HDMI spec allows for pass-through network connectivity, it can be disabled on ps4/xbox.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#502

Post by jacquesm »

johnminter wrote: post #421

Manufacturers need to distinguish between critical updates that fix a significant error in the results or fix a security hole that could make the users system vulnerable. By contrast, feature updates should be labeled as such. This makes it easier for the user to make an informed choice to install the update.

Manufacturers seem to be hip to this which is why they bundle critical security updates with UI changes and other trash that you don't need. If not for that nobody would upgrade... it's totally backwards.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#503

Post by downrightmike »

pmontra wrote: post #269
jiggawatts wrote: post #252

Don't forget: "Never slow down the user interface". I have a 4K Sony television that was their flagship model when it was new, but a couple of years ago they "updated" it with a new version of its OS that looks identical but is incredibly sluggish. Not technically broken, but frustrating to use. Moving around between menu items is a good 2-3 seconds, up to 10 in some cases. There is literally nothing I can do about t…

I own a LG smart TV. Wary of those and other problems I never connected it to the net. I bought it because it cost only 50 Euros more than the dumb model and the display looked much better, which should be the main point of a TV. If I really want to do smart things with my TV I attach something I control to one of its HDMI ports (phone, tablet, laptop, Raspberry.) I'm not thrilled about the idea of TV sets with an em…

Burn out the 5g sim or chip

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#504

Post by dividedbyzero »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #245
orev wrote: post #106

I had been using a great app that’s been around since before the iPhone came out (PocketMoney on Palm). They rewrote it for IOS, and it was able to import the database from the Palm version. Really great. Then sadly the author died, and it languished for a while until it was sold to someone else. The new owner seemed to try to keep it going, but then finally gave up last year and crammed an absolutely awful “update”…

This is a real 'Stallman moment'. The issue there is less about updates, than about non-Free software (the thing the FSF talk about), and data silos (the thing the IndieWeb folks talk about). You committed to a non-Free software solution, the maintainers of which held all the power over the software, denying you the freedom to have the software do as you wish. When they make a decision, it's to maximise their benefit…

But the economics don't seem to work out for a free-as-in-freedom model for consumer apps. Chiding people for using proprietary software when it's very, very often the only viable option feels very out of touch. I'd like to have a free accounting solution that covers all my needs, is easy to use, well-maintained, available on my mobile device, up-to-date, fully internationalized, but there doesn't seem to be one, but there are numerous affordable proprietary options. Which I totally get – I wouldn't want to build high-quality, well-maintained, fully localized, etc. accounting apps for free, either.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#505

Post by dec0dedab0de »

Joeri wrote: post #247
cs702 wrote: post #8

As a user of software, I couldn't agree more with the OP that automatic updates: > should always keep the user centric > should be incremental and security or bug fixes only > should never update a user interface without allowing the previous one to be used as the default > should never be used to install telemetry or spyware or to re-enable it if it was previously switched off > should never be used to install other…

If you have to do all that, it costs a lot more to develop updates. I think most developers mean well but just can't afford to do it all. For example: > should be incremental and security or bug fixes only That means maintaining multiple releases of the app, and porting fixes between those versions, while also maintaining data migration logic when fixes affect data formats. I've maintained an enterprise software suit…

It doesn't mean any of those things. It just means not making the updates automatic. Make your auto-update just say "hey your version is no longer getting updates, you can get the new version at this link"

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#506

Post by dividedbyzero »

krageon wrote: post #367
zelos wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not necessarily out of malice, though. Quite possibly the older version is using some server endpoint or format that the developer has deprecated and they want to reduce their maintenance burden.

> That’s not necessarily out of malice It is not malice, it's laziness and stupidity. Most apps are so trivial it is absolutely not necessary to break compatibility when you release a new version.

Depending on the app, it's just sound security. On a jailbroken device, you cannot assume any of the OS safeguards are still in place. On a stock iOS device, there's pretty much no relevant malware that could be on that device. On a jailbroken device, all bets are off.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#507

Post by jacquesm »

neonihil wrote: post #386

I went as far a building my own router out of an ARM box and denying all traffic going to known update servers. I’m now adding auto-detection of update-looking DNS lookups and denying those too. Ironically, I’m keeping the router’s software up to date though. Security is important. But it’s linux, I can always roll back.

That's a product.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#509

Post by jacquesm »

fogetti wrote: post #77
chrisseaton wrote: post #7

> should never update a user interface without allowing the previous one to be used as the default I don’t understand why people are so precious about their UI and workflow. They obviously managed to learn and adapt to the current UI. Why can’t they adapt to a new one? If you’re super sensitive to something as trivial as a change to a menu location maybe that’s a sign you should be automating whatever your workflow i…

Imagine that they upgrade the touch UI in your car, and it's a complete redesign, but only on one specific screen in a sub-sub-sub-menu which you usually only open while driving. Now you are speeding with 150km/h down the highway and voila, the screen is gone (it's there in fact, but it's not the same screen any more). Have fun poking with this new updated UI and workflow. BTW, this example is exaggerated of course,…

Oh, you are far closer to reality than you think, this isn't all that exaggerated. One particularly memorable instance of this was OTA update of on-board controller in a vehicle, while in motion! Fortunately we spotted it during DD, the consequences could have been terrible.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#510

Post by segfaultbuserr »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #494
einpoklum wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, depends on what you mean by "long term". BSD-licensed low-level unix programs are still quite useful today and are likely to continue to be very useful in coming decades.

If they're BSD-licensed, that means they're Free Software.

Nobody said it isn't. You misunderstood the discussion here.

I quoted "In the long run, the utility of all non-Free software approaches zero."

hutzlibu said the same problem affects all software, not just non-Free software. In a constantly changing computing environment, even free software is affected. Nevertheless, hutzlibu was in agreement with the "spirit" of the quote, because at least the user still controls the software, and it's possible to migrate.

einpoklum disagreed, using BSD utilities as an example - showing how free software can be unaffected.

Disclaimer: I didn't downvote the parent post - Why is my parent post downvoted? There's really no disagreement here.

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